in the quiet hours of the morning, the smell of fresh coffee brewing. its a long day ahead, it's an even longer week that faces you, its the last week of the quarter, the time when all the combined sins of the professors and students come home to roost :-) it's also the week when some dear friends graced this earth, and birthday celebrations are due. the to-do list is longer than tabu's hair (at least when she was growing it :-), and the mind has decided to take the summer vacation early - it's gone!
but at this hour, this solitary hour, when everyone is sleeping and the coffee is brewing, all is well with the world. the morning is yet dark, the coffee darker, and the warmth that percolates from the cup seems to seep deep into the soul. the sun will rise, the birds will chirp, across the country countless little tea shops will lazily come to life again, while their patron pace impatiently newspaper in hand. but for now its just the perfection of a solitary cup of south indian filter coffee from yercaud, and a solitary man sitting cross legged on his floor cushion, savoring sip by sip, the silence, and the coffee.
and immediately spitting out the coffee, a lovely brown arc from lip to floor. the teenage mutant ninja filter coffee loving ants have struck again! they were waiting too! and have yet again found their way to the cup. when i think of it, i'm probably merely a part of the ants' filter coffee production function. mine begins with " take two heaped teaspoons of fresh coffee powder" and theirs with "wake deepak up "! you may consider this mere speculation but the truth is that within minutes of having put that ambrosial cup on the floor, these ants have already begun snaking their way to their filter coffee heaven. a little inattention, the mind swimming in other waters for a little while, and these guys are swimming in coffee heaven! you can almost see the contented smiles on their faces as they paddle around lazily in the cup. if you dont take them out soon enough, they will drown (and they do), but they don't seem particularly grateful if you do flick them out! they'd rather kick the bucket drinking in the coffee from every pore of theirs.
this is serious stuff. something must be done. my coffee is at stake. we're talking about religion here! so i stop putting the coffee on the floor. just holding it in my hands and hugging it close. they respond by climbing on the wall behind me, jumping on my shirt and cheerfully sliding their way into my coffee. at least thats what i think they are doing, unless they have started flying invisibly through the air intent on their solitary mission. i always suspected i made good coffee, but could it really be that good :-) :-) :-)
this weeks poem is yet another offering from daniel ladinsky. translating this time one of sant kabir's poems. the purists dont like ladinsky, he doesn't exactly translate, he meditates on the poems and transmits. i love what he does! from a collection called "love poems from god" this one is absolutely luminous, and as you will discover, particularly topical :-)
WHAT KIND OF GOD?
What kind of God would He be
if He did not hear the
bangles ring on
an ant's
wrist
as they move the earth
in their sweet
dance?
And what kind of God would He be
if a leaf's prayer was not as precious to creation
as the prayer His own son sang
from the glorious depth
of his soul –
for us.
And what kind of God would He be
if the vote of millions in this world could sway Him
to change the divine
law of
love
that speaks so clearly with compassion's elegant tongue,
saying, eternally saying:
all are forgiven – moreover, dears,
no one has ever been
guilty.
What
kind of God would He be
if He did not count the blinks
of your
eyes
and is in absolute awe of their movements?
What a God - what a God we
have.
(Sant Kabir)
that bit about "hear the bangles ring on an ant's wrist" stunned me when i first read it. no, i don't hear them (yet!) but i have never been able to look at ants the same way! and the "ant-ics" of the teenage mutant ninja filter coffee loving ants have left me in total awe too. maybe i should just brew them their own cup :-)
heres wishing a very very happy birthday to dears sunali and aarthi. may you always fill our world with your warmth, your incredible generosity, and your wonderful love. and yes, the (cake and) coffee's on us!
much much love,
d&s
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